News Release 4/27/16
PERTH AMBOY – A rainbow of prom dresses will be on display at Brighton Avenue Community Center. This was possible due to the generosity of women throughout Perth Amboy and surrounding communities that committed themselves to fill the gaps for the school district’s students who could not afford the high cost of prom dresses, in addition to all other senior year costs. Prom can be extremely expensive for students, with national spending averaging about $978 per person. A large part of the overall cost can be a gown, along with all that accompanies the dress, such as shoes, jewelry, formal hair, nails, and make-up.
WISE (Women, Inspiring, Supporting and Empowering), a professional women’s networking organization, partnered with D’Elegance Nail Spa to host their first annual Project Prom, putting out a call for gently-used evening gowns. On April 21st, racks at the local salon were filled with more than 80 dresses that ranged in styles, sizes and colors in addition to piles of shoes and accessories.
The next step was for founding members of WISE, Eridania Towns and Soverya Acosta, who are social workers at both the Perth Amboy High School and Academy for Urban Leadership Charter High School, to identify young ladies from their prospective schools who can benefit from receiving a dress. This will offset the cost, which many of their families would otherwise not afford or strain to cover. The young ladies will be selected and invited to the Brighton Avenue Community Center on May 5th from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., to “shop – FOR FREE” from the racks of donated evening gowns, shoes and accessories. Women from WISE will volunteer as personal shoppers to assist the young girls in selecting the perfect dress, shoes, and accessories to make their prom night magical. In addition, D’Elegance Nail Spa and Professional Hair Salon will be making a few lucky girls even more glamorous by donating several gift certificates for prom hair-dos, nails and make overs.
“Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to enjoy these rites of passage, like prom, in response, we wanted to give less fortunate girls the same opportunities, said Tashilee Vazquez, also a founding member of WISE. “Many of us remember our parents’ struggle first hand, working overtime, or taking on extra gigs just to make our dreams of attending prom possible, or worst having to chose between prom cost and the cost of college application, acceptance fees and preparing for moving into college. No one should have to make this choice.”
WISE would like to personally thank our partners and all those who donated or volunteered to make Project Prom a success. We will continue to accept dresses, shoes and accessories until May 3rd. If you have a donation, would like to volunteer to be a personal shopper during Project Prom or need additional information please email wise.cause@gmail.com.
About WISE
WISE is a group of professionals expanding options for the new generation of powerhouse women bred in Perth Amboy and in the surrounding community. Instead of seeking fun professional events elsewhere, the founders; Soverya Acosta, Yudelkis Hernadez, Fe Peterson, Nancy Rosario, Eridania Towns and Tashilee Vazquez, decided to offer them right here in Perth Amboy. Their motto: We are here; Women, Inspiring, Supporting, and Empowering one another, guides them when implementing activities, be it social networking, community service, or educational workshops. To connect and collaborate follow WISE on Instagram at wise.cause.
